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West Indies look for back-to-back wins

Well what do you know? West Indies found a way to win for once and suddenly their series with India actually has the makings of a close encounter going into Tuesday's third match of the five-game series



West Indies captain Brian Lara is due a big innings © Getty Images

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Well what do you know? West Indies found a way to win for once and suddenly their series with India actually has the makings of a close encounter.

Click here to bet on West Indies v India at bet365

Their one-run triumph in the second match was a well-deserved win after they bowled well, even if they batted badly themselves with the honourable exception of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who maintained his excellent record against India with a superb 98 not out.

Game three of the five-match series is in St Kitts on Tuesday, which will stage its first ever one-day international.

The home fans are sure to be looking forward to the occasion but the weather is again likely to be a key factor with a poor forecast making a shortened match a distinct possibility.

Batting markets
Despite his heroics in Jamaica, Sarwan is still only third favourite at 4/1 (5.00) to be his side's top runscorer. Captain Brian Lara holds the honour of favourite at 100/30 (4.33) even though he has not exactly put his mind to the matter of a long innings yet in this series.

Opener Chris Gayle, who hit a swashbuckling century in the opening match, is next at 7/2 (4.50) while Runako Morton is 9/2 (5.50) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul is 11/2 (6.50), which could be a big price.

For India, Bet365 make captain Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh are 3/1 (4.00) favourites while Virender Sehwag is 4/1 (5.00).

Behind them, Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa are 6/1 (7.00) while Mahendra Dhoni and Mohammad Kaif are 7/1 (8.00) and pinch-hitter Irfan Pathan is 8/1 (9.00).

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

Simon Cambers is Cricinfo's betting correspondent